


together we burn brighter

by quietinthelibrary



Category: Free!
Genre: Day 1, Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-26 09:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2646302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietinthelibrary/pseuds/quietinthelibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>they see each other as bright, shining lights, so it's only logical that when they come together, they form an even more brilliant glow</p>
            </blockquote>





	together we burn brighter

The first time Rin swims with him, he is drawn to the other boy like a moth to a flame. It's not just that he beat him—other swimmers have done that—but the way he swam, as if the water responded to his every command, and the fluidity of his movements. Graceful.

Yet also passionate, because flames burn, despite appearances, with his having a cool demeanor and (clear) blue eyes—though blue flames are the hottest, something they taught in school—and Rin yearned to swim with him even more, yearned to have those flames inspire him and help propel him toward his (dad's) dream.

(Those flames burn brightly in his heart, and only burn brighter when he finds himself standing on the international stage with Haruka, when he swims in front of the world, when he fulfills what becomes _his_ dream and not just his father’s, anymore.)

He doesn't realize how brightly he shines to Haruka until much later, sometime after he bursts his way into Haruka's life, after he hits a barrier overseas in pursuit of his (dad's) dream, after Haruka extends a hand to him and brings him back; it is much, much later, when Haruka admits that Rin had been too bright for him in a long-past nightmare (one that he had before Rin brought him to Australia and he was able to find the resolve to pursue the same future Rin had been aiming for).

So in fact, they both shine: Haruka's swimming had always had a way with drawing people in, while Rin's dedication and determination makes him stand out even more, the two of them the perfect duo of the natural genius and the hard worker, who stand on the international stage together. The press has a field day with them, and especially with their (eternal) rivalry—the question gets raised of whether or not hard work really can triumph over genius, though they don't reach an answer, because they're too evenly matched.

And it's when they swim together that a sea of light spreads endlessly, to all who witness it—to all who can witness the light that Haruka has always had in the water, and to all who can see how Rin only brings it out even more, and compliments it with his own brilliance. (And, being in the Olympics, they have an international audience, and they show the world a sight they've never seen before.)

**Author's Note:**

> some short piece about the nature of rinharu for rinharuweek, day one
> 
> prompt: a sea of light that spreads endlessly (with a slight nod toward "a flame that kindles in your heart")
> 
> ((... i have something longer planned for another day, haha. but if you liked this, that makes me very happy uou))


End file.
